WESTFIELD – The city has a firm date to begin the repair of several of the city’s roads most damaged by weather, especially this past winter when the freeze-thaw cycle, which usually starts in March, this year began in January.
That cycle requires daytime temperatures to rise consistently above freezing, causing snow and ice to melt. The water flows into cracks in the pavement and freezes at night. Water expands as it freezes, slowly opening the cracks more and more.
Priority is being given to the streets most damaged this past winter: Shaker Road, Springdale Road and City View Road. Shaker Road will be repaired and repaved from the Shaker Farms Country Club to Falley Drive, while Springdale Road will be milled and repaved between Holyoke Road and Union Street. The section of City View Road between Southwick Road and Valley View Drive will also be milled and repaved.
Department of Public Works Deputy Superintendent Casey Berube said this morning that the city is using the one-time state “pothole funds” to repair and repave those three roads.
The state has allotted the city $180,000 for a pothole grant, money that must be expended before September, as well as $1 million from the FY 15 Chapter 90 allotment to the city, which became available on July 1, the start of the 2015 fiscal year, to continue road improvements throughout the summer.
Berube said that the paving will be done in phases based upon coordination with other municipal departments, the Westfield Gas & Electric department in particular because of gas line replacement and expansion, work that often involves cutting street pavement.
“Phase 1 is set to start on Aug. 4 and we have four streets lined up for that work which is being done by Lane (Construction of East Mountain Road),” Berube said. “That phase is Shaker Road, Springdale Road, City View Road and possibly West Silver Street where the WG&E has to complete some work.
“The second phase, no date has been set yet, includes Franklin Street, Court and High streets where the WG&E is replacing gas lines and possibly West Silver Street,” Berube said. “All of the pothole money has to be spent by September.
The scope of work includes milling or grinding down the surfaces of the most damaged roads, raising structures (such as storm drain and sewer covers, water main gate controls), then repaving the roads.
Berube said that Lane, which is contracted for both phases, has separate crews for milling, raising structures and paving, crews who moved from project to project sequentially, so it is a benefit to the city to have several street lines up to facilitate that process.
